An Unlikely Pair
by JordynLeighThomas
Summary: Casey and Alex spent the best part of their lives together, and now that Alex has passed on, Casey remembers the good times with their children.
1. Chapter 1

Uh oh. I found another plot bunny that resulted in this!

I give you, Casey and Alex through the years.

I hope you enjoy.

-Jordyn

* * *

Casey took the stage, standing in front of the podium, looking out over their collection of family and friends. Alex had touched so many lives, and Casey could see them all sitting in front of her. It brought a smile to her face for the first time in almost a week, knowing that all of these people cared for Alex gave her a sense of pride that she had never felt before.

She took a breath to steady herself, and try to calm her nerves. She was a lawyer that was afraid of public speaking. She could rip into a perp without a second thought, but when it came down to talking from her heart, she froze. Alex always teased her about it. But today was different. Today she got to talk about the love of her life, and that she could do.

"Thank you all for coming today," Casey started. She took a breath and caught her daughters eye. She gave her a reassuring nod, and she smiled, going on. "Alex would be so happy to see so many of her friends here to celebrate her life. I always knew that Alex was special, and she touched so many lives. I don't think that there is a person in this room who hasn't been touched in some way by the Alex Cabot, be it personally or professionally. It makes me so proud to say that I shared my life with her. I was so incredibly lucky to have her, and to be her wife. As many of you know, we got a rocky start to say the least." Casey could see Olivia laughing, and it put her even more at ease. "Yes Liv, you know exactly what I'm talking about, and I'm sure that the rest of you have heard the stories." The crowd laughed. "When I met her that day, so many years ago, I never would have thought that I was meeting the person that was going to mean the most to me in life. Because once we realized that we didn't have to be enemies, I found my best friend, and the love of my life. Forty three years ago, Alex walked into my life, or more accurately, I walked into her apartment, and we never left.

She drove me to be a better person, and she always managed to bring out the best in me. So many people only saw Alexandra Cabot, the ice princess, but I had the privilege of seeing the true Alex Cabot. The Alex Cabot that would run around our house in sweat pants on a Sunday morning because she could, who would make pancakes in the shapes of animals because she loved them as much as our children, and who would curl up on the couch with me and watch sappy movies that she hated, but she knew I loved. I got to watch her be an amazing mother to our children, and be the best wife that anyone could ever hope for.

I can't tell you exactly what I'm going to miss about her, because I'm going to miss everything. She took the best parts of me with her, because she was the best part of me. But her legacy will live on through our children and the family that we created, and I will always be grateful to her for giving them to me. In almost every way, I consider myself the luckiest woman in the world because I was able to call Alex Cabot my wife. The day that I said I do was one of the best of my life, because being Casey Cabot-Novak has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. But let's not mourn our loss, instead let us celebrate her life, and the wonderful people that she filled it with. I love you Alex." There wasn't a dry eye in the church as she stepped back, not trying to keep the tears from streaming down her own face. As much as she wanted to celebrate Alex's life, and she knew that there were so many reasons to celebrate, but where was the joy in celebrating without the person that you love most?

Her daughter appeared at her side and slipped an arm around her shoulders, and helped guide her back to her seat next to Olivia and Hannah. Olivia gave her one of her biggest smiles, and pulled her into a one armed hug. The retired police captain was still protective of her former ADA, and friend, and it showed in her actions. Olivia had promised Alex that she would take care of Casey once she was gone, and she intended to keep that promise. Olivia had never intended to outlive Alex, actually she had expected to not make it past forty or so, especially in her line of work. But things change, and suddenly, she was taking care of Casey instead of the woman that held her heart.

"You did great Case, Alex would have been so proud of you. Your speech was beautiful, and you know that Alex felt the same way." Casey just nodded in understanding, and sunk into her embrace. She didn't have the will to fight the exhaustion anymore, and she felt safe in Olivia's arms.

"Thank you," She whispered into Olivia's shoulder. "For being here. I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you. I just feel so empty. Like a whole piece of myself is missing, and I don't know what to do. Everything is out of balance, and I'm lost, Olivia."

"Case, you just lost your wife, it's natural to feel like this. I promise you that things will get better. Spend time with Leighton and Wyatt. Remember the good times that you had together, and work on making new ones. You know that Alex wouldn't want you to stop living now that she's gone. If she saw you thinking about giving up and not living each day to your full potential, we both know that you'd be getting the Cabot stare, and that's not something that you should be striving for." Casey actually smiled at that, knowing that Olivia was right. Alex would be glaring at her while informing her that she was an idiot, because she didn't need her to live her life. Looking back up at Olivia, Casey could tell that she knew she had won this round. Sometimes, trying to win an argument with Olivia was like taking on Alex. Part of that probably came from the fact that she only dated lawyers.

"Come on," Olivia said, offering Casey her hand. "Let's get you home." Casey took the offered hand, and pulled herself to her feet. She was more than ready to get away from all the sadness and spend some time with her children. Olivia was right, she needed to remember the good times, and make new memories to hold on to.

X X X

"Ma? Are you home?" A voice came from around the corner. She nodded, before remembering that Leighton couldn't actually see her.

"In here honey," She called back, never taking her eyes from the photo album in front of her. It was one that Alex had given her on their first anniversary. At that time it only had a few pictures of them, but over the years, Alex had filled it with pictures from everything they had ever done as a couple, and as a family.

"I thought I might find you in here," Leighton said, appearing in the doorway. "Mom always liked to hide in here when she needed to think." Casey smiled, finally looking up at her daughter. She looked so much like her mother, it was ridiculous. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a pony tail, highlighting her distinct facial features, and for a moment, Casey could see Alex in her eyes. She was a carbon copy of her mother, at least physically, but mentally, she was much more like her Ma. So while there were things about her that were distinctly Alex, there were also things that were undeniably Casey.

"You know, your mother threatened to make you sleep in the closet if we didn't find a house that had a study." Casey said with a smile, closing the album and patting the couch beside her.

"She did not!" Leighton screeched, taking the offered seat.

"You've met your mother!" Casey screeched back. "She needed her space to be DA Cabot-Novak, so that she could be our Alex at home." She smiled at the memory of Alex throwing a fit over turning the office in their apartment into a room for Leighton. It was that night that they decided they needed to move into a space that had enough room for the three of them, and eventually Wyatt as well. She had turned down more houses than they had friends before they found the perfect brownstone, and the house that they would come to know as home.

"She always tried so hard to keep work away from us," Leighton added, resting her head against her mother's shoulder, pulling Casey back to the present.

"We just wanted to protect you two for as long as we could. After what your mother and I saw on a daily basis, we didn't want you to be exposed to that kind of hate and cruelty in the world. You're lucky that we let you two out of the house at all! When it was time for you to start pre-school, your mother, briefly entertained the idea of quitting her job to homeschool you so that we could keep you safe!" She smiled again, only half joking. Leighton curled up closer to her mother and grabbed the forgotten photo album off the table in front of them. She had seen it many times before, but this time felt different. She wanted to hear about who he mother was before.

"Will you tell me about her?" She asked, handing Casey the album. She took the album with a smile.

"What would you like to know?" She asked, turning to her favorite picture of the two of them. It had been taken just after their three year anniversary, and they were both smiling. Olivia had managed to snap the picture without either one of them knowing it, and there was the New York skyline in the background. Something about the innocence in the picture drew Casey to it, time after time.

"How about," Wyatt said, appearing in the doorway where Leighton had just been. He had been outside the door, not wanting to intrude on the moment, but he wasn't going to miss one of his Ma's stories. Especially not if she was telling one about her and mom. "How you and mom met the second time? Or as I like to think about it," He said with a smile, "The time that actually mattered."

"They both mattered," Casey said, trying to be firm, but she knew she was failing. Having her children around always made it hard to be serious. "But I know what you meant. Alright so..." Wyatt instantly dropped to the floor in front of his mothers legs, ready for the story.

"Well, it was almost forty five years ago now..."

X X X

"Alexandra Cabot, if you do not get your ass home right now, I will come haul you home myself!" Abbie threatened through the phone, her accent more pronounced because the emotion in her voice. "You know I'd do it to!"

"You mean to tell me that you would come all the way from D.C. just to make me go home? All because you think that I sound sick?" Alex asked, trying to hide her smile, and attempting to sound less stuffed up than she actually was.

"No Blondie. I'm upstate with Serena, and I can be there in less than an hour. So don't think that I won't make good on my threat!" Alex sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to win. Sometimes having a federal prosecutor as a friend had major downsides.

"Fine," She sighed again, admitting defeat. To be honest, she really did feel terrible, but Alexandra Cabot never took a sick day. However, the embarrassment of Abbie throwing her over her shoulder and carrying her out of the office was enough to spur her into action.

"Good girl, and call me when you get home, from you home phone. Reenie and I might stop by later to check on you."

"Abbie, you don't have to..."

"I know I don't have to. But Since you won't talk to your hot cop and you finally got rid of that P.O.S. Robert, someone needs to take care of you! Besides, Serena and I are having date night in the city anyway!" Alex ground her teeth, trying to keep from snapping.

"Really Abigail?! Olivia and Robert in the same breath? That might be a new record!" Alex snapped, her patience too thin to try and contain her anger at Abbie's antics.

"I needed to make a point. Go rest, Alex. Let someone worry about you for once."

"Abbie?" Alex asked, cautiously, internally admitting defeat. She knew that Abbie was right, even if she was reluctant to admit it.

"Yes, Cabot?" Abbie could sense her change in mood, and let up on the teasing.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, Blondie." Alex sighed at the use of the awful nickname, and ended the call. Sometimes Abbie was too much, and other times she was exactly what you needed.

In one swift movement, Alex shoved all the papers from her desk into her briefcase, and took a mental note of what cases she was working on. She probably didn't need all the files, but she was too sick to care. She really did feel like something on the bottom of a shoe, and she was convinced that she looked like it too.

"Hold all my calls and reschedule my meeting with McCoy for later in the week." She announced as she marched out of her office. Her secretary scrambling to write everything down, and keep up with her train of thought. "If anyone needs me, I can be reached by cellphone, but tell them to call at their own risk."

"What should I tell McCoy if he asks why you're rescheduling?" Her secretary asked, finally catching up to Alex's thoughts.

"Tell him it's none of his damn business!" She snapped, and then instantly backpedalled. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. If he asks, tell him that I went home sick today, and I don't know when I'll be back in. If he has a problem with it, he has my cell number." Alex started making her way down the hall when her secretary called after her, the words finally sinking in.

"Wait, you're going home sick?!" She could hear the shock in her voice all the way down the hall.

"Yes, I know it's a shock, but I do get sick just like a normal person!" With that, she turned back down the hallway, ending all further possible conversation and setting her mind on getting home.

An hour later she slinked through the door, cursing every person in the city that decided to drive their car today because of the traffic it caused. All she wanted to do was climb into her bed and sleep for a week, but first she wanted to take a hot shower to try and wash the feel of sick off her.

Dropping her clothes on the way to the shower, not bothering to hang up her suit, she took in the steam, and let the hot water pound against her, washing away the layer of germs that she could feel building up on her body. As bad as she felt, a shower always made her feel better, and she thanked whatever god was watching over the building, allowing her to have hot water. She climbed out, feeling slightly more alive, but she knew that it wasn't going to last as the mucus settled back into her chest.

She didn't bother putting clothes on as she scooted back into her bedroom, dropping her towel on the bed, and laying on top of it. She didn't even care that she was ruining her sheets, or that the apartment was a mess. She was finally in her own bed, and she was finally able to sleep. Within seconds of her head hitting the pillow, she was out.

A constant knocking on her door dragged Alex out of sleep. She tried to gain an awareness of her surroundings as she scrambled for a robe to put on. She cursed at the person on the other side of the door for waking her, and she had a pretty good idea of who it was. She vowed to kill Abbie for not using her key. There was a pause in the knocking, and Alex held her breath, hoping that it meant the person was leaving. Instead, the knocking just got louder as the person switched hands. Yanking the door open with all her might, Alex got ready to tear into Abbie, when she ended up face to face with Casey Novak, who looked more than a little uncomfortable.

"Uhm, hi." Casey said, shifting the bag in her hands back and forth, nervous under the Cabot glare she was receiving.

"Casey?" Alex asked, trying to fight through her sleep filled haze to understand why Casey Novak of all people was standing at her door. It wasn't that she didn't like Casey, it's the fact that they hardly knew each other, and Casey had been the one to sweep in and replace her while she was in WitSec. Okay, so maybe she did dislike Casey a little. But that still didn't explain why she was standing at the door holding a bag of something.

"I uh, Abbie sent me." She said, gesturing to the bag in her hands. "Her and Serena got umm, caught up, so she asked me to swing by and check on you. So I brought you some soup, and some medicine, because I figured that you wouldn't want to cook, and you need something healthier than take out." She held out the bag for Alex to take, and then started back down the hall, her job complete.

"Casey!" Alex yelled before she got far. "Why don't you come in for a minute? I really appreciate you doing this." She wasn't sure where this sudden need to be nice to Casey came from, but she had come all the way out here to check on her, the least she could do was invite her in.

Casey visibly hesitated, but seemed to come to the same conclusion as Alex. The past was the past, and maybe they could start rebuilding bridges they burned. She nodded letting Alex know she was coming.

She disappears back into the apartment, leaving the door propped open for Casey, who was more than a little hesitant about walking into Alex Cabot's house. All Abbie had asked her to do was stop by and make sure that Alex was home, and alive.

"Make yourself at home!" Alex yelled from what Casey guessed was the bedroom. "I'll be out in a minute." Casey took the invitation to look around. Every inch of the apartment screamed Alex Cabot. There everything was orderly, and clean. She had a post-modern style that very much represented her personality, but at the same time was warm and welcoming. Unlike so many west side apartments, it felt like someone lived in the house.

"My mother decorated," Alex said from behind her, and Casey jumped.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay. I was just taking in your apartment. I think it's beautiful." Casey blushed at paying Alex a compliment. Up until twenty minutes ago, they had been strangers, and almost enemies.

"Well thank you. It does what I need it to." Sensing Casey's hesitation, she decided to break the ice. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, thank you though. But if you're hungry, there's vegan chicken noodle soup, and a roll in the bag. Also there's a few movies. I wasn't sure how long you were going to be home, and I didn't want you to get bored."

"Thank you, Casey. That was so sweet." Casey blushed again. She hoped that Alex let her out of the house before she looked at the movies she had picked. No such luck.  
"Do you want to stay and watch a movie? I don't want you to feel like you have to rush out."

"Sure," Casey found herself saying before her brain had processed the information. Alex gave her a real smile, something that Casey had never been lucky enough to witness before. She caught her breath. How had she never realized how beautiful Alex was. She could see how Olivia had fallen so easily for the woman in front of her.

"Great! What movies did you bring me?" Alex asked as she started to get up, but Casey beat her to it.

"You rest, I'll grab them." She pulled the stack of movies out the bag before reading the titles. "Alright. We have Titanic, The Notebook, Desert Hearts, Mean Girls, and last but not least, Legally Blonde one and two!"

"You did not!" Alex screeched, grabbing the cases out of her hand. "Did you actually bring me Legally Blonde?!"

"Reese Witherspoon is hot! And it's fun to watch! Don't judge me!" Casey didn't realize what she had said until Alex was just staring at her, a slightly confused look on her face. "What?"

"You just said Reese Witherspoon was hot!" Alex said, looking her up and down, as if trying to read her mind.

"And?" Case asked, hoping that she'd catch on without her having to say it.

"Are you, uhm..." She sighed at Alex's inability to say it.

"Gay? Yes, Alex. I play softball for goodness sake! I know I don't completely fit into the stereotype, but goodness knows I'm close."

"But I never... How didn't I know?! Did you and Olivia ever...?" She asked, not really sure that she wanted the answer.

"Alex! I almost shit rainbows! Your gaydar must be broken." She teased, before her tone turned more serious. "And no, nothing ever happened with Olivia. I promise. I always looked at her as yours, even when you weren't here, and I learned the hard way not to mix business with pleasure."

"Well I guess that we learn something new every day!" Alex said, looking at the ground. She was more than a little embarrassed for making such a big deal over Casey being gay, especially considering everything that happened with Olivia.

"Yep! So," Casey said, trying to pull the conversation away from her personal life, and back to something more neutral. She wasn't a huge fan of telling her sexual history to a virtual stranger, even if it did feel like her and Alex had been friends for years. "What movie are we going to watch?" Alex gladly accepted the subject change. She didn't want to focus anymore on anything serious, or the fact that she was comfortable enough with Casey to ask that kind of question.

"My vote is for Legally Blonde! It's one of my favorites. But I swear to you that if you tell anyone else about that, I will end you and they will never find the body." Alex gave her a wicked smile that let her know she was kidding, and Casey couldn't help but smile back. That smile was contagious, and she didn't mind catching it.

"Alright, you get the couch ready and Ill get the movie going. Do you need anything while I'm up?" She offered, turning toward the DVD player, not expecting Alex to agree to let her take care of her.

"Actually, I'd love some of that soup that you were so wonderful to bring me." Casey could hear the smile in her voice, and she blushed. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Alex was almost flirting with her.

"That I can handle," She said, hitting play on the DVD so that it would be past the previews when they were finally ready to watch. "I'll be right back."

Once Alex was sure that Casey was in the kitchen and out of earshot, she pulled her phone out and dialed a number she knew by heart. Casey could hear her talking to someone, and moving things around, but she couldn't figure out who she was talking to.

"No I haven't kissed her yet! Why would I?" Alex hissed just loud enough for Casey to hear. Maybe she did know who Alex was talking to after all. "Is that why you asked Casey to come over instead of you? To set us up? I'm on to your plan, Abbie, and you can't deny it." There was a pause, and Casey assumed that it was Abbie's turn to go on a rant. "Ew! Abs, that was too much sharing. I didn't need those mental images! I know that I asked, but there is a line, and you just crossed it!" There was another pause, and Casey tried to make it sound like she was doing something in the kitchen so that Alex didn't get suspicious. "Yes, of course I find her attractive! I'm sick, not blind!" Casey couldn't help but smile at that. Alex thought she was attractive. "I'd appreciate it if you could stay out of my love life though. And i swear that if the next words out of your mouth are Olivia or Robert, I will never speak to you again." Another pause. "Thank you Abbie. But I need to go, she's in the kitchen getting me some of the soup that she brought over. I know, it really was sweet of her. Yes, I will give you the details later. Goodbye, Abigail." Casey made some extra noise in the kitchen as she put the soup and medicine on the tray, letting Alex know that she was almost done.

When she emerged a minute later bearing soup and cold medicine, Alex's face lit up. She rarely let other people take care of her, even when she was sick, but something about Casey made her want to be taken care of. Casey, on the other hand, was focused on the fact that in the short time she had been in the kitchen, Alex had managed to turn the entire living room into a blanket war zone. It was a tradition that she had when she was younger; she would build a blanket fort in the living room and watch movies when she didn't feel good. But she hadn't done it in years, because she hadn't had anyone to share it with. Not since she left for WitSec and left Olivia behind. But even then Olivia rarely had time for blanket forts and animated movies.

"Are there any blankets left in New York?" Casey teased, as she handed the tray down to Alex.

"Hey! Be nice! I just like to be comfortable when I'm sick! And to answer your question, yes. I let Abbie keep her blankets. God only knows what has happened on them!" Casey couldn't contain her happiness at getting to see this childish side of Alex. A side that she was sure very few people ever got to see.

"Good choice! Is there room for one more person in your blanket fort?" She asked, moving toward Alex's side, and the pile of blankets.

"Of course!" She patted the space beside her, that Casey plopped into without hesitation. They were sitting closer together than was required, and probably than they should have been seeing as they had only officially become less than enemies about an hour ago. They both knew it, but neither of them was willing to move away from the contact.

The movie started, and after Alex had finished off the soup, and managed to choke down the awful cold medicine, they stetted in to watch the first round of movies. But half way through Legally Blonde, the cold medicine kicked in, and Alex passed out on Casey, with her head in her lap. It took every ounce of self control she had to not play with Alex's golden hair that was flowing over her legs. She looked so peaceful sleeping that Casey had to smack herself. She couldn't be developing feelings for Alex Cabot. Things like that didn't happen. They had just officially met on friend terms, and she wasn't good enough for Alex. She knew she never would be. But, she considered her options, maybe they could be friends.

Alex stirred in her lap, and curled herself up into a ball, closer to Casey's body heat. She smiled, and let her arm rest against Alex's side. She knew that Alex would be more comfortable in her own bed, but she didn't want to move her just yet.

Once the movie was finished, Casey clicked the TV off, and carefully slid her arms under Alex's and under her legs. She picked them both off the floor in swift movements, doing her best not to wake the sleeping woman in her arms. Making her way down the hallway toward what Casey assumed was the bedroom, Alex stirred and rested her head on Casey's shoulder. She was adorable when she was sick, and Casey was content to stay in that moment. Successfully reaching her destination, she carefully set Alex down on the bed and pulled the covers up around her, lightly smoothing out the few hairs that had managed to fall out of place on the trip to the bed.

As Casey pulled her hand away, causing her to completely break contact for the first time, Alex rolled over and grabbed her hand.

"Stay, please?" Alex asked sleepily. Casey knew that she shouldn't, but the adorable look on her face made it impossible to say no. She sighed, and crawled into the opposite side of the bed, and Alex instantly snuggled into her side, sighing in content. Casey knew then that she was in trouble.


	2. Chapter 2

And I give you, chapter two! It's not as long as the first, but I think that it says what I need it to. I do promise to continue past these two chapters. I have a million ideas bouncing around in my head, so expect more chapters shortly!

I hope you all enjoy!

-Jordyn

* * *

"Ew!" Wyatt said, flinging his hands over his ears. "Were you and mom always so ridiculously cute?" Casey swatted his hands down with a smile before answering.

"I never thought so, but your Aunt Liv always told us that we were killing her with our adorableness, so I guess it's a possibility!" She couldn't contain her smile at the memory. Liv had always told them that they were too cute for their own good, and Casey made sure to never take that for granted.

"Did you really stay with mom that night?" Leighton asked, ignoring her brother's childish feelings on their mothers, and getting them back on track.

"I did. I never was good at saying no to her, even back then; and if we're being honest, I wanted to stay with her. Even after one day I knew that your mother was someone special." It was Leighton's turn to smile. She loved hearing her Ma tell stories about when they were younger, and the stories before they became Alex and Casey Cabot-Novak were her favorites.

"What happened next?" She asked, wanting to hear more about how her mothers became a couple.

"Well, that's an entire story in itself. Are you sure you want to hear it?" She asked, already knowing the answer, she could see the excitement in her daughter's eyes. A look passed between her children before they answered.

"We're sure!" They said at the same time, causing Casey to laugh. Their unspoken sibling bond was amazing sometimes.

"Okay," she said smiling, "Well we're going to jump ahead a little..."

X X X

"So, you never did tell us," Andrew said, pinning a glare on Alex that she couldn't shy away from, "How you two officially became a couple." She shot a look at her brother that let him know that he was going to pay for that later.

"Yeah," Jordan chimed in from the other side of the table. "I'd like to hear this story as well." Alex knew that it was awkward for Jordan to be around the couple, especially with as long as her and Casey had been together, but she was grateful that she was at least trying to be civil. She knew that it meant more to Casey than she's ever say, and Alex wasn't sure she'd be able to extend the same courtesy if the situation had been reversed.

After the awkwardness of Alex and Casey both pulling away from everyone, and Alex not calling any of them in the time that she had been back passed, they had fallen into a routine of going out as a group a few times a month. In their own little way, the friend group that they had managed to accumulate had become a family to them, and Casey wouldn't have it any other way. As an only child, she loved watching Alex and Andrew interact.

"Well," Casey said with a nervous laugh. She wasn't sure how to start the story, or how to explain how they had gone from virtual strangers to girlfriends in the course of a few weeks. Most of them knew the general story of their past, but only Fin had been there to see it all go down. He was like a big brother to Casey, and she couldn't imagine going through all of this without his support. She picked at her napkin, trying to find the words.

"After that first night of Abbie's meddling, our relationship seemed to take on a life of its own." Alex said, stepping in to save her girlfriend. She looked at Casey for confirmation that she was okay with the way she was telling the story. The smile she received in return urged her on. "Our first date was sweet, and romantic, and perfect." A face splitting smile broke across Alex's face as she remembered that night. Casey had pulled out all the stops, and she couldn't ever have imagined anything better, even if they weren't sure where it left them.

"And not actually a date!" Casey added, "But from there, we tried to spend as much time together as possible," picking up the story where Alex had left off. "I knew how I felt, but I wasn't really sure how she felt. It wasn't until Abbie showed up at Alex's apartment one morning that we realized that we were both wondering the same thing, and we were wasting our time dancing around the issue."

"Now that's a story I've got to hear!" Fin said, leaning onto the table, extremely curious. Knowing Abbie and the girls, he could only imagine how the whole thing had gone down.

"It went something like this," Alex said, getting comfortable to tell the story.

X X X

A knock on the door pulled Casey from sleep. She shook her head, trying to clear the haze of from her brain as the knocking got louder. Taking a quick stock of the unfamiliar room, she realized that it wasn't her room but instead Alex's, and the warm body of curled up into her side, with her head resting on Casey's shoulder, confirmed it. The memories of the previous night came flooding back, as did the memories of how she had ended up in Alex's bed, and she couldn't suppress a sleepy smile at the memory. Nothing had happened between them, and yet Casey had managed to end up in Alex's bed, fully clothed, but in her bed none the less. She smirked, and shook her head at the thought. There was something about Alex turning her blue eyes on her that made her damn near irresistible, something Alex knew, and seemed to use to her advantage. Whatever Alex Cabot wanted, she got; and last night, she had wanted Casey as a human heater.

She slid out from under the weight of Alex's body, replacing her body with a pillow to support her head as the knocking continued. She took a moment to admire Alex in this state; completely calm without a care in the world. She was breathtaking. When she was sure that Alex wasn't going to wake up from being moved, she grabbed a sweatshirt off of a chair beside the bed and squirmed into it on the way to the door. They had spent one night together, and she already missed the feel of Alex's body, but her scent on the sweatshirt helped make up for it.

"Alexandra Cabot, I know you're in there!" Came a voice from the other side of the door, as Casey padded down the hallway. "McCoy said that you called off today, so I wanted to come check on you." There was a pause in Abbie's ranting, and Casey considered not opening the door after all. She figured that if she waited long enough, Abbie would eventually go away. "The only acceptable reason for you being asleep this late is a certain hot redhead that we both know!" Casey glanced at her watch and gasped. It was already eleven thirty, meaning both her and Alex had slept in later than either of them had slept since before law school. "If you don't open this door..." Abbie started again, but Casey swung the door open, deciding to save them both further embarrassment by letting Abbie go on. She knew in her heart that Abbie wouldn't stop until she managed to get in the door.

"Good morning, Abbie." Casey said, her voice still heavy with sleep, but a small smile playing at her lips. There were worse ways to wake up, and Abbie's shit-eating grin at the sight of Casey in Alex's clothes wasn't one of them.

"Novak," Abbie said with a smirk. She recognized the sweatshirt she had on as Alex's and could only assume that her plan had worked. She hadn't heard hide nor hair on the subject, and she figured what better way to find out than observing them in their natural habitat. "Where's Cabot?" She asked, deciding not to acknowledge the fact that Casey was answering Alex's door on their day off.

"Asleep. Just like I would be if someone," She said, mock glaring at Abbie, "Hadn't been banging on the door for ten minutes!"

"Sorry Red! I just needed to make sure that Cabot wasn't dead! I haven't heard from either of you in weeks."

"That's because," Alex said, appearing behind Casey and resting her chin on her shoulder. "We've been busy having lives that didn't include you and your prying eyes."

"I bet you were!" she said with a smirk. Looking between the two women.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Cabot. I just call em as I see em! You two don't have to pretend for my benefit. In fact, getting to see you two in action actually helps me win a bet! So, kiss away!"

"Abbie, what in the hell are you talking about?" Casey asked from her position as Alex's human headrest. They had moved slightly further into the apartment, and Alex had slipped her arms around Casey's waist and into the pocket of her hoodie. A position that Casey seemed to have no objection to.

"I'm talking about this!" she said, gesturing to their connected bodies.

"What about this?" Alex asked, never moving from her position.

"Oh my god. You two actually don't see it, do you?" Abbie asked, realization spreading across her face.

"See WHAT Abbie. If you don't tell us what the fuck you're talking about soon, I'm going to beat it out of you." Alex tightened her hold around Casey waist and brought their bodies closer together. She instant calmed and relaxed into the feel of Alex's body against hers.

"I'm talking about the fact that you two have effectively been dating each other for the last few weeks, but you're both too oblivious to notice, or do anything about it! Damn, I thought at least one of you would have caught on by now, but apparently not!" Alex tilted her head slightly to the side, a clear sign that she was thoroughly confused. "And now I'm out a hundred bucks!" Casey and Alex looked between each other and the woman that was standing in front of them, trying to figure out if she was right.

"Do I need to spell this out for you?" Abbie asked. She could see the wheels turning, but she could also see that they needed a final shove in the right direction. "How much time have you two spent apart since the first night that Casey 'slept on the couch'?" Abbie asked, adding air quotes around the last part. "And work doesn't count!" Alex blushed as she realized that they had spent almost every free moment they had together since that night Casey had shown up at her apartment. "That's what I thought," She said with a satisfied smirk as she looked between the two women, who had pulled apart and were giving each other side glances, as if this new information changed everything between them.

"Well then, I guess I'll leave you two alone to talk. It looks like you need it." Casey walked with Abbie to the door, still not staying anything, but the words fighting to get out.

"Case, I can see how much you care about her, and I can see that she feels the same way. Don't let her get away, she's a special one," Casey just nodded with a smile. Abbie giving her the reassurance she needed that she was going to do the right thing.

"She really is. Thank you, Abbie. For everything." She pulled Abbie into a hug.

"Anytime Red. Now go get your girl!" Casey smiled and playfully pushed Abbie out the door. "I'm going!"

X X X

"Wait," Wyatt said, putting the pieces together. "You mean that Aunt Abbie is the one that got you and mom together?"

"I guess you could look at it that way, yes." Casey said, smiling at the memory of Abbie calling them both idiots.

"But didn't you two date at one point?" That stopped Casey in her tracks.

"How do you know that?!" She asked, slightly mortified at the fact that her children knew of her dating history.

"She told us the story of karaoke night in the bar," Leighton said, putting a hand on her mother's arm. "It's okay mom, we know that you were with other people before mom. We're adults, we can handle it."

"Anyways," Casey said, changing the subject. "Yes, Abbie is the one that brought your mother and I together. She told me years later that it was payback for setting her up with Serena."

"So you're the one responsible for Aunt Serena and all the little Abbie's running around!" Leighton shrieked.

"It's not all my fault! Your Aunt Olivia helped, too!" Wyatt just shot his sister an evil grin. Abbie and Serena's kids always seemed to like him better, and only brought out their ornery side when it was Leighton that was watching them.

"Can we get back to the story?" Leighton asked, wanting to get the topic as far from her cousins as possible.

"Sure," Casey said, knowing exactly what she was doing, but going on anyway. "Well, after Abbie left..."

X X X

Alex had collapsed onto the couch with a dazed look on her face when Casey came back into the room.

"Lex?" She asked, a slight panic in her voice at the near carbonic state that Alex was in. She gave a slight nod to let Casey know that she had heard her, but her mind was too busy trying to process the new information to respond. "Alex, honey, look at me." Casey placed a hand on the side of her face, and that seemed to snap her back to the present. She shrank under Casey's gaze, suddenly hyper aware of how close their bodies were together. "What's going on? Is this about what Abbie said?"

"No," Alex said, finally speaking, but Casey gave her a glare that called her on her bullshit. "Okay, maybe a little. I guess I just, never expected this to happen. One day we were strangers, and the next I couldn't imagine not having you with me. Things changed so fast, and I never took the time to stop and think about whatever this was..." She let her sentence hang, unfinished.

"And now that you're thinking about it, it scares you?" Casey finished for her.

"It has nothing to do with you Case, quite the opposite actually. I care about you so much that I can't do this to you." Casey could see the pain in Alex's eyes, and it broke her heart.

"Do what, Alex?" She asked, truly not knowing what Alex was talking about.

"This. For the last few years I have barely been able to take care of me. I couldn't even think about dragging you into my mess..." Her words were swallowed by the pain in her voice.

"Because the last time you did, the woman you loved watched you die in her arms?" Alex didn't say anything, but she nodded, the tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall. Out of instinct, Casey pulled Alex close, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She needed Alex to know that it was going to take more than that to scare her off. Alex relaxed into Casey's side, feeling safe and loved, which caused her to cry harder. Casey just held her, trying to give her strength, and let her know just how loved she was.

"I'm a big girl, Alex. I know what I'm getting myself into. I also know that I want to be with you, because these last few weeks have been some of the happiest of my life. I know that it won't always be sunshine and roses, but I also know that you're worth it. So don't think, Lex. Just feel." Alex had pulled herself together enough to stop crying, and she pulled away from her nest in Casey's side to look her in the eye.

"You're an amazing woman, you know that. I don't know what I did to deserve you walking into my life, but I know that I'm going to spend every day being thankful that you did." Alex said, pushing a piece of hair out of Casey's face, and her finger lingered along her jaw line. Before she could talk herself out of it, she leaned in to close the gap between them, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. It wasn't a demanding, but instead, it held a promise of everything they could be.

When they pulled back, they were both smiling, and they didn't have to say anything to know that things were exactly how they should be.

X X X

"Wow," Leighton said, brushing a tear from her cheek. She loved hearing stories about her mothers, especially cute ones. She was a hopeless romantic, and her mother was always willing to indulge her with stories.

"That's the day I knew that I was in this to stay," Casey said, with a sad smile. Talking about all this made her realize just how much she missed Alex. It's funny how a person can become such a part of you, that it feels like you're empty when they're not there. "It wasn't always easy, but your mother and I made a damn good team, and I thank God every day that Abbie asked me to check on Alex that night."

"Mom!" Wyatt warned. "You're gonna make me cry!" He'd never admit it to anyone, especially not Leighton, but he was always a sucker for his mother's cute stories too.

"I'm sorry, honey. But you did ask!" Casey said, ruffling his hair. He unsuccessfully tried to duck away from her hand. He was always going to be her little boy, no matter how big he got.

"Just embrace it!" Leighton said, picking on her younger brother. "Shed some manly tears!"

"I'm not crying!" He said, glaring at her. "I just have something in my eye!"

"Uh huh," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "Let's pretend that I believe that!" Casey couldn't help but smile, because even now into their thirties, the two of them acted like the twelve year olds that they were inside.

"Anyways!" He said, moving the conversation away from him. "So that's how you and mom became you and mom?"

"More or less!" She said, grabbing onto both of their hands. "And because of it, I got you two amazing kids." She wanted them to know how special they were, and how much she loved them. This time both Leighton and Wyatt were trying to hold back their tears, and Leighton pulled Casey into a tight hug.

"I love you mom," she whispered.

"I love you too." She said through her tears. If nothing else, she and Alex had done right by their kids.


	3. Chapter 3

This one is a little bit heavier than the previous chapters, but I hope you enjoy it!

Also a giant thanks to all of you that have taken the time to review this story, they always make me smile!

Enjoy!

-Jordyn

* * *

"What about this one?" Leighton asked pointing to a Polaroid of her and Alex wrapped in each other's arms in the squad room. They were smiling and seemed more interested in each other than what was going on around them. She had seen the picture before, but she didn't know the story behind it.

"That one Fin took right after we told the squad about us being a couple," She said, running her fingers lovingly along the worn picture. It was one of her favorites because it captured a moment of pure happiness between them.

"I don't think I've ever heard this story!" Wyatt said, looking at the picture and the smile on his mother's face. Anything that could put that kind of smile on his mother's face, he wanted to hear about.

"Well then, I think we need to fix that." She said, shooting a grin at her daughter who had heard this story enough times that she could probably recite it herself, but she loved it just as much as Casey did. "Your mother and I had been together for about nine months…"

X X X

"Has anyone seen Alex?" Casey asked, walking through the doors of the squad room.

"Well hello to you, too." Elliot said from across the room. He gave her a smirk that let her know he was just pulling her leg. "And to answer your question, no. I haven't seen our fearless ADA yet today."

"Any specific reason you're looking?" Olivia asked from her desk.

"I have some papers for her, and she wasn't at her office, and she's not in court. So I figured here would be the next logical stop!" Casey said, trying to hide the real reason that she was looking for Alex.

"Why do you have papers for her?" Elliot asked, enjoying watching Casey squirm. She couldn't tell him it was because she had left the papers at her house this morning in her rush to get to work, so she had to pull out her lawyer skills and think on her feet.

"She left them at the diner yesterday when we were having lunch, and I told them I'd get them back to her today." There, she though proudly, a lie yes, but hopefully one that would satisfy their curiosity. Elliot seemed to accept the answer, but Olivia was slightly more curious, but she let it go for now.

"Is it cool if I wait around for a little bit to see if she comes by?" Casey asked, checking the time.

"Fine with me!" Elliot said, and Olivia just nodded her approval.

X X X

"So," Elliot said, sitting down beside Casey on the corner of his desk, bored with his paperwork, and deciding to return to torture Casey instead. "Are you going to tell us who the lucky guy is?"

"What are you talking about, El?" Casey asked, not sure where he was going with this, but after his questions earlier, she knew that she needed to watch her answers.

"You've been floating around here like you don't have a care in the world! You're smiling more than I've ever seen, and don't think we miss you giggling at your phone like a teenager! Even Munch noticed, so spill!" He said, bumping her shoulder. Olivia tried to hide her smirk at her partner's direct approach, but she had to admit, even she was curious. Even so, no one deserved to be grilled by Elliot.

"Leave her alone, El. If she hasn't told us she obviously has her reasons!" Olivia said, coming to Casey's defense. She sent Olivia a silent thank you, and she just smiled back at her. Olivia had a sneaking suspicion as to why Casey was being so secretive, but she was going to let Casey tell them in her own time. She had been their once, and she knew how hard it was to balance what she wanted people to know, and what they actually could know.

"Yes mother," Elliot said, dropping into his chair, but never taking his eyes off Casey. As if on cue, Casey's phone beeped, and a smile cracked across her face. Elliot's head snapped up, his own smile threatening to break across his face.

"Case and point!" he said, gesturing to a still smiling Casey. "You are seeing someone! No one smiles like that at a text from a friend!"

"El, you sound like a gossiping teenage girl!" Olivia said from her desk, but she had to admit, Casey was digging her own grave with that smile.

"Fine," Casey said, admitting defeat and sliding her phone back into her pocket. "I am seeing someone. But it's still new, and I don't want to jinx it. But I promise that I will tell you eventually." Casey said, meeting Elliot's eyes, trying to figure out if he suspected anything.

"I can live with that," He said with a nod, turning his attention back to his paperwork, periodically looking at Casey, who had turned her attention back to Olivia, who was finally starting to put all of the pieces together.

Alex had been floating around for the last few months as well. She had never seen Alex so happy, and even when they tried to get a warrant with almost no evidence, she rarely snapped at them. As the realizations started to fall into place, she turned her attention back to her paperwork as well, before she accidentally said something that she didn't mean to.

A few minutes later, Munch and Fin came through the swinging doors, argument in full swing, but Fin let his end drop off when she saw Casey sitting on the corner of Elliot's desk. They saw each other at least once a month, but it was always a treat to see her back in the old stomping ground.

"Case," He said, pulling her into a hug. "I miss seeing your face around here." Casey hugged him back, enjoying the strength of his embrace. "How's your girl?" He asked, so that only Casey could hear. The smile on her face was more than enough to answer his question.

"I missed you too," She mumbled into his chest before he let her go. They didn't see each other nearly enough, so the times that they did it was special. He was like a brother to her, and the day that he had walked into Marco's to find her and Alex on a date had been one of the best, and scariest of her life. But he had embraced their relationship with open arms, he always looked at Casey as his little sister, and he loved her no matter what.

"You look good!" He said, looking her up and down, and winking when he saw Alex's favorite heels. "How's life been treating you?" He asked for everyone else's benefit.

"I've been good, actually, very good." She said, not able to keep the smile off her face.

"She's got a new man that she won't tell us about!" Elliot threw in.

"I don't." She said, turning her attention back to a smirking Fin, when the distinct sound of heels on the tile floor stopped them all where they stood. Elliot because a visit from Cabot was never good, and the rest because they wanted to see their theories play out.

"No way." Munch said for the first time since entering the room. Alex had rarely stepped foot in the precinct since returning to SVU as their ADA, so the sound of her heels had them all more than a little curious. "Cabot?"

Olivia's heart stopped at the familiar sound. Even since returning to SVU, it wasn't a sound she had heard more than a handful of times, and she wasn't sure if she would ever get used to hearing it again when she knew that those steps were not leading to her. As Alex came around the corner, Casey couldn't hide her smile, something that no one around her missed. Trying to hide things in a room full of detectives was like trying to hide the sun.

"She doesn't have a man," Alex said, sliding up beside Casey on the corner of Elliot's desk. She was frozen in place, trying to figure out exactly what Alex was doing, and trying to keep her body from reacting to the closeness of Alex's. "She has me," And without warning, Alex pulled Casey into a passionate kiss that would have left anyone speechless. It took her a moment to realize exactly what Alex was doing, but once her mind caught up, she happily responded.

"Oh my god," Much said, when they finally pulled apart, both breathless. He had seen Alex and Olivia together once upon a time, but the scene in front of him came straight out of one of his fantasies.

"No fucking way." Elliot added, his eyes almost popping out of his head. Never in a million years would he have guessed that Casey was seeing a woman, and not just any woman either. She was seeing Alex Fucking Cabot.

Olivia stood there speechless, her body feeling like a million pounds. She had her suspicions that they were seeing each other, but seeing it in person was more than she could handle. She and Alex had split up years ago, and she wasn't hers anymore, but it still hurt to watch Alex be so happy with someone that wasn't her. Olivia was always going to love Alex, and she accepted that fact years ago. She wanted to be happy for them, but she was too shocked to try and articulate that at the moment.

"What was that for?" Casey asked, grabbing on to Alex's hand, needing that contact to make sure that it wasn't a dream.

"Because I love you, and I thought that our family should know." She said with a smile, looking around at the squad, all of who were staring at them like they were aliens. Fin was the first to move, his shock dramatically less paralyzing due to the fact that he already knew they were a couple.

"I'm happy for both of you," He said, pulling both of them into a hug. He gave Alex an extra long look, silently asking what the hell she was thinking, but she just shrugged. To be honest, she wasn't sure what she had been thinking, except for the fact that she was tired of no one knowing about Casey, and if she were going to tell anyone, it would be her family, or at least the family that she had left.

"You mean to tell me you're okay with this?" Elliot asked, looking between the couple, Olivia, and Fin. He wasn't sure how he felt, but he knew that despite the façade that Olivia put up, she was hurting from the new information.

"Are you happy?" Fin asked, turning back to the couple.

"Extremely," Casey said, looking toward Alex with as much love as she could muster. Everyone could see how happy she was, and Alex's happiness rivaled her own. Despite their reservations, it was obvious that they were good for each other.

"Then yes," Fin said, turning back toward Elliot with fire in his eyes, "I'm okay with this, because they're happy, and that's all that matters to me. We love both of them like family, so if they make each other happy, shouldn't that make us happy too?" He dared Elliot to challenge him. Everyone knew that Fin saw Casey as his little sister, so one way or another, everyone would come to accept them together.

"Mazel Tov," Munch said from behind his desk. He wasn't sure what else to say, and he knew that he wanted to be out of the line of fire when the war broke out.

Elliot just gave them a nod of understanding, and walked off toward the locker room to try and cool down and process everything. He got over the fact that Liv was gay years ago, but it didn't mean that he had to like it. But now, not only was his partner a lesbian, but also so was every woman that worked in his office, something that was always going to rub him weird. He wasn't blind, he could see that they made each other happy, but he just couldn't understand leaving someone like Olivia behind for Casey.

"Liv, I…" Alex started when Olivia stood there staring at them, but Olivia held up her hand to cut her off.

"Alex, it's okay. I can see that she makes you happy, and I know for a fact that you make her happy. We had a thing once, and it's done now. I'm glad that you're happy. I really am." She gave the couple a sad smile, and took off toward the crib. She didn't want to deal with anyone feeling sorry for her right now.

Alex and Casey just looked at each other as their friends disappeared around them. They hadn't expected them to take it super well, after all, Alex was always Olivia's, at least in their eyes, but they hadn't expected it to end like this.

"I'm sorry, babe," Alex said, resting her head on Casey's shoulder. "I didn't think they'd react like this."

"It's okay, they'll come around eventually." She said, pushing a stray piece of hair out of Alex's face. "All that matters is they know now, and I can stop hiding how happy you make me. Do you know how hard it is not to tell everyone how much I love you?" She asked, locking eyes with Alex, who gave her a smile that could light up the whole room.

"I think I might have some idea," Alex said, her eyes twinkling.

Elliot stood just outside of their line of sight, watching the scene in front of him, and his heart melted. As much as he wished that Alex had never walked out on Olivia that night, he could see how perfect the couple was, and he was willing to leave the past the past, if it meant that Casey was happy. He walked up behind the pair, and placed a hand on each of their shoulders, making him aware of his presence. They both jumped slightly, not realizing that they weren't alone anymore.

"I'm sorry," He said, looking like a disciplined child. "I was just surprised, but I can see how much you love each other, and if you're happy, then I'm happy." A smile broke across both of their faces as they turned and embraced Elliot in a group hug.

"I second that," Munch said from his desk, reinserting himself in the conversation. "But just know that if either one of you hurts the other, you're going to have to answer to me." He threatened, but he could tell this time that he wasn't going to have to make good on that threat.

Alex walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. Sometimes words just weren't enough to explain how she felt. He had given her the same speech when he found out about her and Olivia, and yet despite the fact that she had broken Olivia's heart, he was still willing to accept her and Casey as a couple. She'd always be grateful for everything he'd done for her, and for how much he cared.

She walked back over to her girlfriend and situated herself between her legs, with her back to Casey, who instinctively wrapped her arms around her waist, and propped her head up on Alex's shoulder. A position that had become second nature to them when they were alone.

A click snapped their attention toward the sound, and Fin standing a few feet away holding the Polaroid camera that they used for victims. A guilty smile spread across his face as his friends glared at him.

"Was that really necessary?" Alex asked, attempting to grab at the picture, but Casey's arms held her in place.

"Yes!" He said, holding the picture above his head out of Alex's reach before handing it over to Munch for some added height. "You should see how cute you two are! I needed photographic evidence!"

Olivia had been quietly observing the scene before her from the stairs. She couldn't stop the pride that bubbled in her chest as she watched everyone embrace Casey and Alex. They were her family, and no matter how much they hurt her, that wasn't going to change. She made her way down the stairs unnoticed, watching the scene unfold.

Even though it hurt her to know that she had lost Alex forever, she couldn't deny that they were cute together. Sneaking up behind Munch, she grabbed the picture from his hand, causing him to jump and screech, earning a laugh from everyone. They fell silent as she took a second to take in the picture; it had captured a moment of pure happiness between them.

"He's right you know," she finally said, handing the picture to Alex. "You guys are really cute together." Alex wordlessly took the picture, her mind not believing what her eyes were seeing. She tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill down her face. She knew that this white flag meant that Olivia was starting to accept their relationship in her own way, and that meant more to her than anything else.

"Thank you, Olivia." Casey said, knowing that her girlfriend was too emotional to answer. She knew how much this meant to Alex, and she wanted Olivia to know that she appreciated it. Having Olivia accept them as a couple meant that they could handle anything else that came their way, because they had their friends on their side.

Olivia gave her a smile, and made her way over to Elliot, a weight lifted off her shoulders. He gave her a smile that said more than his words ever would. He was proud of her for being the bigger person and letting Alex go. He knew how hard this was for her, especially because he was the one that had to pick up the broken pieces the night Alex had left her with nothing, but she was being the bigger person, like always. He envied her ability to see the best in people, and to look past everything to leave the past in the past.

X X X

"Hold on," Wyatt said, finally cutting his mother off with a question he hadn't been able to get over. "You mean to tell me that our mother, Alexandra Cabot-Novak walked into the squad room and kissed you, in front of everyone?" He was trying to wrap his mind around the idea of his mother doing something so out of character, especially around people that she worked with and cared about.

"Well, she was only Alexandra Cabot then, but yes." Casey said with a smile. "I couldn't believer it either. We had spent months talking about how we weren't going to tell anyone yet, because your mother couldn't afford for it to come out that she was dating a former ADA that had been disbarred. But in the end, I'm glad that she did. Hiding it from our friends was starting to take a toll on the both of us. I think that's why she did it."

"Wow," He said, trying to make this new information fit into the mold that he always saw of his mother. "But the squad did eventually accept it, right?" He asked.

"Well duh," Leighton said, giving her brother a 'You should have known that look' that reminded her of their teenage years. "Obviously they came around, I mean, look at Aunt Liv!"

"They were our family," Casey added, "The only real family that your mother and I had at that point, except for her brother." She said with a sad smile, remembering how different their childhoods had been. Even with being an only child, Casey had been allowed to be a kid, while Alex and Andrew were forced to grow up much too quickly. "So yes, they eventually came to terms with us being together, because they loved us, and they could see that we were happy."

"Things were so different back then," Leighton said, taking her mother's hand. "I can't imagine Julie and I trying to fight through what you and mom had to deal with. The inequality and the judgments…" She let her thought trail off.

"It was hard. I won't deny that. But we loved each other, and so we knew that we could get through anything the world could throw our way, as long as we did it together. We completed each other, and because of that, we knew that nothing was going to break us." She said, squeezing her hand. "You two could have done it, because you wouldn't have had a choice. You fight for the people you love, no matter what the cost."

"Have I ever told you how much I admire your strength?" Wyatt asked, taking Casey's free hand. "Because I do. I think you are so strong, and I am so proud to be able to call you my mother." He said, as Casey's eyes filled with tears. She had always been the relatable mom, and the fun one, but no one had ever called her strong before.

"Thank you," She said, letting the tears fall. "But I'm not the strong one. Alex survived so much, and she never let it slow her down."

"I'm not saying that she wasn't strong," Leighton said, "Because she was; but so are you. You gave up everything to stand up for what you believed in, and you stood up for your family, and for the people that you love. You stood by her when she went off to the Congo for a year, and you stood by her as she ran for DA. You showed true personal strength…"

"Strength that we admire," Wyatt added.

"And that provide us with a perfect role model for us to look up to," Leighton said. "I can't imagine having better parents than you and mom. I owe so much of who I am as a person to the amazing mother that you were to us. Thank you for being you."

Casey couldn't respond through her tears, so instead, she pulled her children into a hug, realizing in that moment, that she was the luckiest woman in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

GASP! I finally updated! I'm _so_ sorry that it took so long! And that this isn't the best that it probably could be. Uni is keeping me crazy busy. I'll do my best to update as often as possible. I promise that I am not abandoning you!

I hope you enjoy!

-Jordyn

* * *

"What about this one?" Leighton asked, pointing to a picture of them in oversized hockey jerseys.

"That," she said, running her fingers over the worn picture, "Is from the night that your mother kissed me in public for the first time. That's also the night that we officially came out as a couple." She smiled at the memory. Alex had been terrified, but Casey knew that they could get through it together.

"Will you tell us about it?" Wyatt asked. He had heard the story second hand from his Aunt Olivia, but he wanted to hear his mother tell it. She nodded, and tried to contain her smile at the memory.

"Your mother and I had been dating for almost a year..."

X X X

Casey looked over at her girlfriend who was completely engrossed in the game going on in front of her. Although she was admittedly a self professed sports nut, Casey never could understand the point of hockey. Watching grown men beat each other up for a rubber disk? No thank you. But Alex loved the game, and Casey was willing to suffer through three periods of nonsense if it meant getting to see that smile on Alex Cabot's face.

Something happened on the ice, and Alex, along with most of the crowd, were on their feet cheering. She wished that other people got to see this side of Alex. The side she called her Alex. Where she wasn't all buttoned up and strictly by the book; and where she wore old jeans and an oversized jersey to yell at refs. She wished the world could see beyond the 'Ice Queen.' But she was thankful at least, that Alex let her see it.

Alex turned to Casey, as if noticing for the first time that she was standing alone. She gave her a mischievous smile, and pulled her to her feet in one quick motion. As hard as Casey tried to look upset at being moved, she was enjoying the look of pure joy on Alex's face to try too hard.

Before she realized what was happening, Alex turned to Casey and closed the gap between them with half a step, bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. Alex wasn't one for showing PDA, at least not before her stunt in front of the squad. But they were usually especially careful because she wasn't out at work; however, she wasn't going to question this nice surprise.

The catcalls from the men around them, and then the thunderous applause from the crowd as the couple appeared on the lovers camera finally drove them apart. They separated, but only far enough that their foreheads rested together.

"What was that for?" Casey asked, pushing a stray blonde hair out of Alex's eyes.

"Because I love you," She said, as if the answer should be obvious. Alex closed the gap between them once more, unaware that they were still on the big screen.

"I love you too," Casey whispered.

A tap on Casey's shoulder broke the moment, and she turned to give whoever it was a verbal lashing when her eyes were directed to the big screen, and a picture of her and Alex, engaged in a passionate kiss and the words lovers of the match printed underneath.

"Shit," she hissed, turning to Alex who's face had gone as white as the ice. She realized what it meant as well as Casey did. The entire nation had just been made aware of the Cabot/Novak romance, and things were going to get ugly, because not only was Alex just outed, it was made known that she was dating a coworker.

Sure Case wanted people to know about them, she didn't care who knew that she was in love with the most beautiful woman in the world, but things worked differently for Alex. When she had been with Olivia, they had played things under the radar, mostly because they worked together, and because neither of them wanted their personal life broadcasted for everyone to see. But Casey was different, she didn't mind the talk and the stares from people. She was comfortable with her life, and was proud to have Alex in it. But Alex had a career, political goals to consider, and a female lover that was out and proud wasn't conducive to those goals.

But Alex was determined to have her cake and eat it too. She was convinced that if they were careful, no one would have to know. After they had told the squad, she thought that things were going to be different, and that Alex was finally coming around to the idea of being together in the public eye all the time, but she had been wrong. Casey wasn't going to be her dirty little secret, and she made that abundantly clear when they had talked about letting people in on their relationship. Actually talk is the wrong word. A few weeks back, they had a knock down, drag out about the subject that had resulted in Casey sleeping at her own apartment for almost the first time since they had started seeing each other.

But this, she looked back up at the screen, was NOT how she had wanted to tell people. People that should not have been a factor in their lives were suddenly going to become center stage.

She shot a look back at Alex, who's excitement for a few minutes before had been replaced with sheer panic. She wasn't ready for this, and she didn't know what she was supposed to do. Casey could see her inner turmoil in her eyes, and she reached out a hand to take Alex's. Usually, Alex would shy away, or hold her hand like you would that of a friend. But she surprised both of them by using Casey's hand to pull them together, and buried her head in Casey's chest, finding safety there.

She was content to stay there, protected in her lovers arms, until a voice from behind them forced her to look up.

"Filthy dykes!" A voiced yelled from a few rows back. "You're sick, I hope you both burn in hell! Homosexuality is a sin, and you'll pay for what you've done!" The voice was originating from a woman in her early 50's who was there with her grandson. Alex moved to respond, when Casey beat her to it. Never letting go of her grip on Alex, she turned to the woman who was still shooting daggers at them.

"Excuse me ma'am, but if you have a problem with my girlfriend and I, I would appreciate it if you'd say it to my face. Unless you're afraid that you'll catch the gay, in which case I recommend staying at least fifty feet back." This earned a chuckle from the surrounding crowd members, while it only proved to anger the woman more. She took a step into the isle, making her way closer to Casey and Alex. She hadn't expected the woman to approach them, but Casey was more than ready for a fight.

"You two are sick! You're a crime against nature, and I don't want to have to see your disgusting sinning. This is a family friendly place, with traditional family values. What kind of example are you setting with your, acts." The woman rambled, and Casey held up her free hand to stop her.

"Excuse me, but the only one sick here is you. My girlfriend and I are here to enjoy ourselves just like you are, doing things that heterosexual couples are allowed to do, so I think that you are presenting us with a double standard. As well as pushing your own traditional family values on me. Why do men and women get to kiss their significant others, but I can't kiss my girlfriend whom I love more than the world? Why do I have to be ashamed of who I love? Why do you get to define what makes a family, when we make a perfectly normal, happy family. As for what children will think? I hope that they think that it's okay for them to love whomever they want. I'm not trying to push an agenda, I was just trying to enjoy a peaceful night out with my girlfriend. So if you'd kindly leave us alone, I'd like to go back to watching the game. Unless you have any more insults you'd like to throw our way? Come on, you must have a creative one or two." The woman stood silent, unable to come up with a reply. She hadn't expected Casey to have a reply. Instead, she turned on her heels without another word. Alex, who had remained silent throughout the confrontation, finally spoke.

"Wow," she said with a smile. "She's going to need some aloe for that burn!"

"You don't argue with me when it comes to people I care about. She was just the beginning Alex, but I'm going to try and protect you as much as I can, because I love you, more than I could ever imagined." Alex tried to blink back we tears as she snuggled back into Casey's side.

"You know," a voice came from beside them, "We aren't all like her," he said, pointing in the direction the woman stormed off. "I just wanted you to know that. I think you two make a beautiful couple. And," he turned so that he was looking Alex directly in the eye, "She's a keeper, make sure you don't let her go. Or someone will snatch her up forever." it as Casey's turn to be overwhelmed with emotion.

"Thank you," she whispered, tightening her grip on Alex. He nodded in understand and went back to his seat, leaving the couple emotionally exhausted and completely lost with what was going in within the game.

X X X

"Your mother never did forgive me for that one."

"But you were just standing up for yourself! Mom knew that you don't always think before you speak!" Wyatt said, clearly upset about the fact that Alex had given Casey a hard time.

"We were able to laugh about it later. So don't hold it against her. I was always more in your face than your mother. We balanced each other out. She was there to be the voice of reason when I got too heated, and I was there to voice the things your mother only thought about saying."

"So what happened?" Leighton asked, more than a little curious as to how things had played out.

"Well..."

X X X

A shrill ringing from her pocket forced Alex to pull away from the warmth of Casey's arms. She pulled out her phone to see a number she hasn't expected to see again. She shot Casey an apologetic smile before answering.

"Hello, Olivia," Alex said, trying to keep her voice neutral. They had come to an agreement since she found out about them as a couple, but it didn't mean that things weren't tense sometimes.

"What the hell were you thinking, Alex?" Even over the noise of the crowd, Casey could hear Olivia lecturing her.

"I was thinking that I was out on a date with my girlfriend! I didn't know that it was any of the NYPD's business what I did in my free time!" Alex snapped. She wasn't in the mood for Olivia's life advice tonight, especially not after everything else.

"We'll it is now, because Elliot just texted me. He asked me to tell you two that you're hot together, and you look really good on his HDTV. Which means, I'll expect your phone to start ringing off the hook any second now."

"Wait, if Elliot just texted you, how did you even know about all of this?"

"Because I'm at the game." She said, her tone matter of fact, and Alex's jaw dropped. Olivia was never a fan of hockey, so she could only assume that she was here with a date. "Wipe that surprised look off your face Alex. Hannah's brother had tickets that he couldn't use, and she asked me if I'd like to come."

"I wasn't going to ask," Alex defended, even though they both knew she was.

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that this isn't just your business anymore Alex. Good luck." With that the line went dead, and Alex's heart was in her throat. Olivia was right; this wasn't her personal life anymore. It was going to become so much more than that.

"What did Olivia want?" Casey asked, pushing a piece of hair out of Alex's face.

"To let me know that Elliot saw us on TV, which means that more than likely, so did half of New York…" She sounded so small that Casey couldn't resist the urge to pull her into her arms.

"It'll be okay. I promise." Alex just nodded sadly into her chest. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Please," Was all she said before burying her head back into Casey's shoulder. At least there she knew that she was safe, and the world couldn't touch her.

X X X

They had barely made it three feet into the apartment before Alex's phone rang again. She didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was, and what it was about. She briefly considered not answering it, but she knew that things would turn out worse in the end if she didn't.

"Cabot," She said, her tone decisive and strong. She needed Jack to know that she was confident in her actions, and no matter what he said, he wasn't going to shake her.

"Alexandra Cabot, I trust you know what I'm calling about?" He asked. Casey could tell by the way Alex's face fell that things were going to get much worse.

"I do," She said, her tone short. She wasn't going to let him bait her.

"Then may I ask what you were thinking, doing that out in public with, her?" The way that he said her, without using Casey's name snapped something in side of her. It was one thing for Jack to come after her personal life, but it was another for him to insult the love of her life.

"Listen to me McCoy," She snapped, "I was out on a date, on my own time, minding my own business. I love Casey, and that is all that matters in this. I did not ask to be put on the screen, nor did I ask to have my personal life attacked by you. I know that this might not stand up to the image that you had of me, but it's something that you need to either deal with, or fire me. But know that this isn't going away, _Casey _isn't going away. " She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down enough to not say anything else that she might regret.

"Well then," He said, obviously annoyed by Alex's outburst. "I would like to see you first thing Monday morning."

"If you're going to fire me, just do it now McCoy. Show that you're capable of some compassion."

"Goodnight Ms. Cabot." He ended the call before Alex had a chance to say anything else. She knew that things were going to be bad, she just wasn't sure how bad.

She felt Casey's arms wrap around her waist, and she instantly sank back into her. Despite the fact that McCoy may fire her, especially after she spoke to him, she knew that she made the right choice standing up for her and Casey. She had spent years hiding who she was, and she was tired of it. Being with Casey was the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she was going to spend the rest of her life making sure that she knew that.

"I love you," She said, turning in her arms to face Casey. "So much. I don't want you to forget that."

"I love you too," Casey said, sweeping Alex up into her arms. She was content to stay there forever; just existing with the woman she loved.

X X X

"Did mom get fired?" Wyatt asked, still engrossed in the story.

"McCoy tried. He said that her morals did not align with those that the DA office upheld. But your mother being who she was, threatened to sue him, and make his life a living hell. Needless to say, she got to keep her job." Casey said with a smile. "And, a few months later, I was even able to come back to work there as well! So something that she said really shook him up."

"Life with you two was never boring, was it?" Leighton asked, loving how exciting their lives had been.

"It might have looked like it to some, but never to us. Any time that your mother and I got to spend together was exciting to me. I wouldn't trade a second of it. Even the year that we spent apart while she was in the Congo." Casey smiled at the thought of all the great times that she and Alex had together, and she hoped that one day, her kids could find the same kind of love that they had.


	5. Chapter 5

What is this?! An update?! Just for you! I am SO sorry that I fell off the face of the earth, but I'm back now! I felt like this needed to be done before we got too much farther in! I don't own the characters, I just like to play with them.

I hope you enjoy.

-Jordyn

* * *

"So you said you and mom fought?" Wyatt asked, looking up from the album. "What did you fight about?"

"It's complicated..." Casey said, not really wanting to get into the details of their first epic fight with their children. "And I want you to understand that I don't mean we hadn't argued before, because we had. We argued like any couple. But this was the first fight that made me truly question what we were doing together, and if we still had a future..." She trailed off, not wanting to relive some of the more painful memories of that fight.

"But you worked through it," Leighton said, feeling the need to state the obvious, which made Casey smile.

"Yes we did." She said looking between her two kids. "In the end, we loved each other too much to not try and work through our problems."

"Will you please tell us about it?" Leighton asked, turning her Alex eyes on her. She knew that Casey couldn't say no to them. She sighed, inwardly cursing whatever god had given her daughter those eyes. They had been her downfall whenever the pair of them had wanted something from her.

"Alright. But I want you both to remember that this was a different time, and things did work out in the end." She took a deep breath, trying to convince herself that this was somehow a good idea. "You mother and I had been together a little over ten months..."

X X X

For the first time in almost three weeks, both Casey and Alex had Saturday off, and they were taking full advantage of it and the beautiful October weather. They had decided to go out to their favourite little cafe for breakfast and then spend the day roaming the city that they both spent the day defending, but rarely got the chance to enjoy. The early October wind blew leaves across the sidewalk in front of them, and Casey couldn't suppress her inner child long enough to let them blow by without chasing a few of them. Alex let out a laugh that Casey hadn't heard in far too long as her girlfriend chased leaves like a seven year old, instead of the thirty three year old she was.

As the wind made itself scarce, Casey reappeared at Alex's side with her hair slightly ruffled and a megawatt smile on her face. She knew that she looked like a mess, but at that moment she didn't care.

"It's chilly out today," Alex said, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over them as a shiver wracked her body.

"I told you that you should have brought a warmer jacket!" Alex just shrugged, unwilling to admit that Casey had been right about something, and instead attempted to burrow herself farther into Casey's old softball hoodie that she had chosen. Without thinking twice, Casey slipped off her own outer shell, and wrapped it around Alex's shoulders in a practiced motion. She received a slightly embarrassed, but grateful smile from the other woman, and that was enough for her. They fell into a comfortable silence, each caught up in their own thoughts as they made their way down the street; no specific destination in mind. When Central Park came into view, Alex light up like a kid on Christmas, and Casey could never say no to that.

"You know," Alex said, tilting her head toward the park while talking a step closer to Casey; close enough that their shoulders were almost touching, but not close enough that anyone on the outside would think anything of it. "I don't know the last time that I just spent an entire day walking through the park, with nothing to do but enjoying the day and the company." She let her mind wander to the last time she had walked through the park, and tried to push away the memories of the woman that came with them.

"Well then I know what we're doing today," Casey said, taking the hint and making a hard right into the park entrance, leaving Alex to catch up.

"Casey! Where are you going?" She used her few extra inches of height to catch up to Casey in a few steps.

"I'm going to walk through the park with my girlfriend! What's it look like I'm doing?" She asked, looking at Alex like she was crazy.

"Well..." Alex laughed, "I didn't mean we had to go now!" She added, easily falling in step with Casey; who was making no attempt to hide her amusement at her ability to still surprise her girlfriend.

"When else would we go? You're here, I'm here, and we have the day off. I think it's the perfect time! I want you to be happy, and if this is going to make you happy, then I'm game for it!" Not seeing a reason to argue the point further, Alex just nodded in agreement as they made their way through the park gates.

It was a beautiful day in the city, with the clouds painting pictures across the sky, but not completely hiding the sun. The slight October wind ruffled the leaves and played with Alex's golden hair that she had left down today, at Casey's request. The fall wind had scared away most of the tourists from the park, leaving just a few locals spread across blankets or walking hand in hand down the paths. Alex had to admit that it was nice, being out and about with Casey. They had hardly seen each other outside of coming home at night for almost three weeks, and they were long over due for some couple time. When a shiver rippled through Casey's body, Alex took a step closer, resting her head against Casey's shoulder. She knew that she was taking a risk that someone might see, but they had taken a turn off the main path, and they were out of sight of anyone else at the moment. She tried to stamp out the thoughts in her head telling her that this was a bad idea, and instead reveled in the feeling of being close to Casey. She wasn't sure where the sudden urge to be so close to Casey came from, but she wasn't going to question it as long as Casey didn't.

As they walked, Casey looked over at the serene smile on Alex's face, and she couldn't resist the urge to move in just a little closer so that their hands and shoulders where just barely touching. When Alex didn't pull away, she took a chance and reached between their bodies to lace their fingers loosely together. Normally Alex wouldn't have allowed this at all, but as they were the only ones on the path, she didn't see a reason not to. Casey never got to see this side of Alex in public, and she decided that she was going to enjoy it as long as she could, even if it meant that everything could blow up in her face.

Alex pulled away slightly, moving her head from Casey's shoulder, and she prepared for Alex to realize what she was doing and regret it, even if no one was around to see it. But instead, she tightened her grip on Casey's hand, letting her know that she wasn't pulling away.

"I can't think of a better way to spend the day," Casey tossed out when she realized that they had been walking in complete silence. "A beautiful fall day, and my beautiful girlfriend to spend it with." There was a smile tugging at her lips, but she tried to keep a lid on it slightly, not letting herself get too emotional. She had to resist the urge to place a kiss on Alex's cheek as her words registered. She knew that while they may have graduated to hand holding in public, kissing her was still out of the question.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," She added, dropping her head to Casey's shoulder in her version of a kiss. Casey finally let the smile break free, and Alex wore a matching grin that Casey realized that it had been far too long since she had seen. The last few weeks had taken a toll on them both physically and mentally. She opened her mouth to say just that when Alex ripped her hand away and put more than the required "friend distance" between them when another couple came into view.

She managed to hold in her anger, and even returned the couples polite nod as they passed. However the second that she was sure that they were alone, she stopped in her tracks, a few feet behind Alex who refused to look up from her feet. She knew what Casey was going to say, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to hear it. They had been on the brink of having this fight for almost ten months, and she knew that sooner or later it was going to come to a head. Apparently today was that day.

When it was clear that Casey was not going to start the conversation, or continue walking, Alex finally looked up and was met with a glare that almost shattered her. Casey's eyes were always the window to her emotions, and today they were flashing between hurt and anger and back again. She wasn't sure which to address first.

"Casey I..." She started, but Casey cut her off, apparently finding her own voice.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked, gesturing in the general direction of the couple that had passed them, as if Alex needed a reminder of what this was about. When Alex didn't answer, she went on. "I can understand you not wanting to hold my hand in public, or to kiss me; but what I don't understand is when you are the one that initiates the contact, and then suddenly, as soon as someone appears, you rip your hand from mine as if I have some kind of disease! Jesus Christ, Alex. Don't you think that you looked even more suspicious ripping your hand out of mine and jumping to the other side of the path then you would have if you hadn't done anything at all? Those people have no clue who we are, or more specifically, who you are. So why the in the fuck do you care what they think about you? You're never going to see them again. If you let what other people think about you rule your life, you're never going to live." She pinned Alex with a glare that dared her to argue.

"You know how I feel about doing things like that in public. I don't want people to get the idea that..." She stopped mid sentence when she realized what she had said.

"That you're gay, and that you're dating a woman. It all makes sense now. You can tell me you love me behind closed doors, but the second that anyone else finds out, it's the end of the world. I can't keep being your dirty little secret Alex. I love you, I truly do, but I can't spend my whole life living in the closet because you're afraid of what people are going to say about you. I'm out and proud, and I have been for years, I can't go back again."

"Casey, please let me explain..." She begged, trying to find the words to explain that she was afraid of losing everything, and that included Casey. But Alex Cabot does not admit fear, so instead she said nothing at all.

"Unless you're going to explain to me how you're going to stop being afraid to be within ten feet of me when they are people around, I don't want to hear it."

"It's not like that. I just can't..." But Casey didn't let her finish.

"That's all I needed to hear." And with that, she turned on her heels and took off in the opposite direction, leaving Alex alone and confused. She knew that was not the way she should have handled the situation, but there comes a time when enough is enough, and she had finally hit her limit. She would do almost anything for Alex, anything except go back to hiding who she was. She had spent too much time hating herself to do that again.

Alex watched her go, realizing that she could be letting the best thing to ever happen to her walk away. But she also knew that until she could explain to Casey why she did what she did, there was no hope in getting her back. Before she could do that, she needed to find a way to explain to herself why she had reacted so strongly. Her mind knew that those people were no threat to her, but the second that she saw them, it was like Casey's hand was burning hers, and she couldn't get away fast enough. Everything that she had ever been told as a child came back to haunt her. It had been different with Olivia, they had to keep things quiet because of their jobs, and working together. But with Casey, there was no need to hide that they were together. No need except for the fact that Alex was scared, scared of what people would say, and scared that she wouldn't be able to handle it. Instead of standing alone in the park, she pulled out her phone and dialed the one person that she knew would understand better than anyone.

X X X

"I wondered how long it would take you to call me," Liz said, sliding into the booth across from Alex, and surveying her appearance. Her usually stoic face was clouded with an emotion that she instantly recognized as self hatred and regret. She had worn that mask more than once herself.

"What do you mean?" She just looked at Liz, trying to figure out how much she knew. When she didn't answer but instead gave her a sad smile, it suddenly clicked. Casey had called her. "Casey," she mumbled. Liz just nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"What happened? I thought you two were happy?" She finally voiced, realizing Alex wasn't going to fill the silence.

"We are, or at least we were. I fucked up Liz..." She dropped her head to her hands, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I've spent so long running from who I am that I don't know how to be proud about it. I love her, so much that it tears me apart to think that she's hurting right now because of something I did. But I don't know if I can even fix it now. And if I can, I don't even know how to start. How do you go from hiding everything about who you are to not being afraid to hold your girlfriend's hand in public? I'm not ashamed to be with her. But it looks like that when I react like I did today. It's always just been a gut reaction, an idea of self preservation that I learned long ago. I don't know how to turn it off..." She ended her rant and looked up to see Liz's sympathetic eyes staring back at her.

"Have you told her any of this?" She asked, trying to coax Alex out of the emotional hole that she had dug herself into. She could tell that there was something else there hiding under the surface, and she hoped that maybe she could bring it out.

"No, she took off before I could find the right words to tell her what was going through my head..." Liz just nodded in understanding.

"Give her a day or so to cool off, we both know that Novak reacts based on emotion. Let her have some time to sort out exactly what she's feeling, and then try and talk to her, because I know that she loves you just as much as you love her, and I can't just sit by and let you two end things because of a misunderstanding."

"It was more than that, and she knows it. There's always been a part of her that's been afraid that I was going to decide that being gay and an ADA was too hard, and I was going to leave her. I'm not going to lie, there was a time in my life when that might have been true, but now she means more to me than anything. I'd give up my job before I'd let her walk away for good. I just need to stop being afraid of people judging me for who I am..."

"Alex that fear is always going to be there. You're a public figure. What you're going to have to do is learn how to deal with that fear, because if you don't, you're going to lose the best thing that has ever happened to you; and trust me, you don't want to spend the rest of your life regretting that decision." Her eyes clouded over with emotion as memories of her own mistakes came flooding back. Alex ha never heard the full story, but she knew from the bits and pieces that Liz had lost the love of her life because she was too afraid to be who she truly was, and she wasn't about to let Alex make the same mistake.

"I don't know how..." Alex admitted, dropping her head again. She hated feeling weak, but if she was going to let anyone see this side of her, she wanted it to be Liz.

"You talk to her, you tell her how you feel, and you pray to god that she takes you back." Alex looked at her, knowing that it wasn't going to be that easy. "Trust me, that woman loves you more than you will ever know. You two will find a way to make it work, I can feel it." She tried to convey how much Casey cared about her through a look that wouldn't betray the information that she had been given in private.

"I hope you're right..."

"I am, and you know I am." Liz said, her usually cockiness coming back with a vengeance now that her mentoring time was over. Alex let a smile break across her face. Sometimes Liz knew exactly what to say.

"Did you ever call her?" Alex asked after a moment of silence. Liz just looked at her, sadness clouding her face again.

"No, and I regret it every minute of every day."

X X X

A knock on the door brought Casey out of her thoughts. She debated on not answering it, but the person knocked again, louder this time. Pushing herself off the couch where she had made a nest for herself, she slumped to the door, not bothering to check who it was before she flung it open, fully prepared to yell at whomever was on the other side. However, she found herself face to face with Alex, and all words seemed to escape her.

"Uhm... Hi..." Alex said, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. She was dressed in her weekend jeans, but today she was donning an appropriate jacket for the temperature, letting Casey know that she had taken a cab over. Instead of acknowledging her, she left the door standing open and made her way back toward the couch. Alex assumed this was as much of an invitation to come in as she was going to get, and quietly followed.

She was met with the sight of Casey's nest, and obvious signs that she hadn't done much since they had last seen each other. There were came controllers spread across the couch, as well as an empty pizza box and an empty bag of M&Ms. Alex sighed, realizing that Casey hadn't moved since she got back to her own apartment the day before. They hadn't spent more than a few nights apart in the ten months since they had started seeing each other, and it showed in the apartment. The few things that were still left here looked like they hadn't been used in months, and the clothes that Casey was donning looked like they had been dug out of the bottom of a gym bag. Though she didn't seem to care much as she hadn't intended on having visitors.

"What do you want, Alex?" Casey finally asked when the silence and Alex just staring at her got to be too much.

"I wanted to talk to you..." She said, her voice giving away just how nervous she was to be having this conversation.

"Well then talk, because I have nothing left to say to you, and I'd like to get back to my game," She gestured toward the TV where Mario Kart was paused. What she didn't say was that the game had been paused for longer than she could remember, but she wasn't about to tell Alex that she had been praying for this to happen, for Alex to show up with some grand romantic gesture to melt her heart.

"Casey, I'm so sorry for yesterday. I know that you're upset, and you have every right to be, but I want you to hear my side of things." She sat down on the edge of the couch, making sure that she kept eye contact with Casey, but leaving enough distance between them that she knew how serious she was. When Casey didn't say anything, she went on. "I made a mistake, and I'm so sorry for that. When I saw that couple walking toward us, my instincts kicked in, and I reacted the way I have for the last thirty-five years of my life. It had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me. I'm scared, Casey. I've always had people talking about me, but I've never had to wonder what they were saying, or if I could lose my job over it." She saw Casey physically react to this. "I don't mean that I value my job over you, because that is not true on any level, quite the opposite, in fact. I'm terrified of losing you Casey. I'm afraid that if something happens, I won't be good enough for you. You deserve so much, and on some level I thought that if no one knew about us, then I could protect you from what was to come. I know that I didn't communicate that well, and I'm sorry. I'm not ashamed to be with you, Casey. I love you, so much…" Alex let her sentence trail off, finally taking a breath. Casey had remained silent during her monologue, and Alex wasn't sure if she was going to speak at all.

"Do you really mean it?" She finally asked, bringing her gaze up from her hands to meet Alex's blue eyes.

"Mean what?" Alex asked, more than a little confused. Normally she was able to follow Casey's thought process, but today she was completely lost.

"That you're afraid of losing me?" Her voice was so quiet that Alex wasn't sure she was actually meant to hear the question.

"More than anything. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, Casey Novak. I'd be a fool if I wasn't afraid of losing you." Casey blushed slightly, dropping her gaze back to her hands.

"There has always been a part of me that was afraid that if it came down to it, you would pick the DA's office over me, and when you ripped your hand away yesterday, I realized that those fears weren't unfounded. I love you, Alex. But I can't go back into the closet for you. If we are going to make this work, I need you to acknowledge that." Alex nodded, and Casey went on. "Now that doesn't mean that I want to make out with you in the middle of Time Square, but when we walk through the park, no more acting like I have a disease, alright?" Again Alex nodded, not sure what else to do or say. Casey was talking about making this work, which meant that she hadn't completely fucked things up, and at the moment, that was all she cared about. She would have agreed to run a marathon if Casey had asked her to. "I know that it is going to take time, I don't expect anything to happen overnight, and I'm okay with that. As long as you promise me that you'll try."

"I promise," She whispered, sliding down next to Casey on the couch. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

X X X

"So what happened?" Wyatt asked, needing to know the ending of the story.

"Well, that night I ended up staying at my own apartment again. Your mother and I talked it through, and we both decided that one more night apart was better for both of us. We needed some time to clear our heads and wrap our mind around what this meant for our relationship."

"But you ended up eventually going back to mom's, right?" Leighton asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"The next day I realized that I didn't need any more time to think it over. As long as your mother was willing to try, that was all I needed. I couldn't sleep when we were apart, so I sucked it up, and found myself back at her door." She said with a smile. The memory of showing up at Alex's door at seven am still made her smile. Alex was already fully dressed, a clear sign to both of them that she hadn't slept either.

"So did things change?" Wyatt asked cautiously, unsure if he truly wanted to know the answer. He had seen his mothers be more than affectionate in public, so he knew something had changed, he just wasn't sure that he wanted to know what.

"They did. Just like she promised, your mother started making small attempts at showing affection in public. To anyone on the outside, it was nothing more than a small hug, or a comforting hand. But to me, it was the world, because she was trying."

"And somewhere along the way, you two became sickeningly cute," Wyatt said, winking at his mother.

"And you wouldn't have it any other way," Casey added, smiling between her two children.


	6. Chapter 6

**Gasp! An update! Life has been kicking my ass. It's far from my best. But there is more to come. I promise. **

**Enjoy!**

**-Jordyn**

* * *

"Why is there a matchbox tucked in with all the pictures?" Wyatt asked, pointing to a worn pack of matches that Casey had shoved into the album more years ago now than she could count.

"Well, that is from the restaurant that your mother and I went to the first time I met her mother." The sight of the worn little matchbook bringing back waves of memories that she hadn't thought of in years. They hadn't remembered to take a picture that day, it was usually Casey's thing, and she was too preoccupied with meeting Alex's mother to think about much else. But on their way out, she realised that she wanted something to remember the night by, so she had slipped away to the bar and grabbed a pack of matches before Alex had even realised she was gone. She was thankful that they were in a place that was still doing traditional things like matchbooks, even if they didn't allow smoking in the bar anymore.

"Oh now this I have to hear!" Leighton said, picking up the album to get a closer look at the matches. She instantly recognised the logo, even if it was more than a little faded, as one of their favourite places to go as a family. "I know this place!" She had more than a few fond memories of nights out as a family there.

"Yes you do. It was always your mother's favourite," Casey added, smiling at the memory of the first time Alex had taken her there. "So we both decided that it was a good, neutral ground for us to meet on. It was classy enough for Lilian Cabot, but it wasn't too far out of my comfort zone that I wouldn't know what was going on. And let me tell you, meeting Lilian Cabot was nothing short of daunting, so I wanted every advantage I could get!" Both of her children made a face, trying to align that idea of their grandmother with the loving woman they knew.

"But we saw Grandma all the time, so it couldn't have gone that bad?"

"You'll just have to see now, won't you?" Casey added with a smirk. She loved teasing her kids.

**X X X**

"Do we really have to do this?" Casey half whined from her position on the bed. She had already gotten half dressed when she realised exactly what getting dressed meant, so instead she had given up that task and situated herself on the bed, and was now enjoying the show Alex was putting on as she vetoed every outfit that she could get her hands on. Alex wasn't even the one meeting the parents and she was nervous, so she could only imagine how Casey must be feeling. She knew that Casey had heard the stories of when Lily met Olivia for the first time, and she kept trying to convince herself that it wasn't going to be anything like that.

"I thought you liked my family!" Alex shouted from their walk in closet. She knew that Casey was nervous, but this was her first attempt to not go, even if it was a joke.

"No, I like your brother. There's a difference! He doesn't care about the fact that I'm sleeping with you. Your mother, on the other hand, probably cares very much about the fact that I'm having really great sex with her daughter! How am I supposed to look her in the eye knowing that?" She heard Alex's laugh before she saw it, and despite her apprehension, she couldn't help but laugh too. She always had that effect on her, even after all this time.

"Well as long as you avoid thoughts like that, and can manage to keep your hands to yourself through dinner, you'll be fine!" She winked, letting Casey know exactly how hard it was going to be to stick to the latter half of that plan.

"But you're a Cabot, and I'm not. What if she thinks that I'm not good enough for you? I just want to impress her Alex. I know how much family means to you, and I don't want to be the thing that gets between you two." She buried her head into a pillow, realising how much she had just said. She never admitted her insecurities to anyone if she could avoid it, and telling Alex that she didn't think she was good enough for her was more than she had ever intended to say.

"Case, look at me," Alex said, sitting on the edge of the bed and resting a hand on Casey's back. She slowly lifted her head to meet the piercing blue eyes that she loved so much, knowing it was no use to fight it. "My mother is gong to love you, because I love you. She won't care that you aren't a Cabot, because that would be incest." This earned her a small smile. "You're smart, and beautiful, and loyal, and perfect for me, Casey Novak. So stop worrying so much, and get your cute ass out of bed and finish getting dressed! One thing I can't explain is that we were late because you were staring at my ass instead of getting dressed!" Casey had the decency to blush at this, and reluctantly pushed herself off the bed and into Alex's arms. She couldn't deny that they fit perfectly together.

"I love you," She whispered into her neck, as Alex wrapped her in her long arms, and she melted, just enjoying the feeling of having her girlfriend close.

"I love you, too. Now help me pick out an outfit?" She asked before kissing the top of Casey's head and pulling them back toward the closet, knowing there was going to be more than clothes in their future.

**X X X**

They walked into the restaurant only two minutes late, and were unsurprised to find Lillian Cabot already seated at the table, already torturing the staff. Alex couldn't keep the smile off her face at her mother's antics, and having her two favourite women in the same room, even if she wasn't entirely sure how the evening was going to go.

"Mother! Leave the poor boy alone!" Alex said, making her presence known to the woman. "We haven't even started dinner yet and you're already threatening to take his job." A smile broke across the older woman's face at the sound of her daughter's voice, and she was instantly out of her chair, pulling her into a warm hug that was much more welcoming than her appearance would suggest. They hadn't always been the most physical family, but as Lily got older, she found that she craved that contact with her only daughter more and more. She spent so much time missing it, that she wasn't going to give up any more precious time. At the pause in yelling, the young man gave Alex a grateful smile and practically ran away.

"Hello, dear!" Lilly said, pulling back just enough so that she could take in every thing about Alex. "You look well." She gave Alex a smile that said more than her words ever could. Cabot's were never good with emotional words, and Alex nodded, understanding exactly. The hug was more than enough for her. "And this must be Casey." She said, turning her attention to Casey, who so far had been hiding behind Alex trying not to look completely terrified of the woman standing in front of her. If she had to be honest, she just looked like an older version of Alex, and that was what scared her the most. "I have heard so much about you. It's nice to finally meet you." Casey blushed slightly at the idea of Alex telling her mom about her, and about their relationship. But so far things seemed to be playing out in their favour, there was no yelling or name calling, so maybe tonight would be relatively pleasant. She hoped that things kept going well.

"You as well, Mrs. Cabot," Casey held out her hand, but Lilly swatted it away and pulled her into a hug in the most unsophisticated way.

"Anyone that can bring that smile back to my daughter's face deserves a hug. And you can call me Lilly. Mrs. Cabot is my mother-in-law!" She leaned into the hug, and couldn't help but smile at how easily Lilly had accepted that she existed as part of Alex's life, and that they were happy. She caught Alex's eye, and she could tell that she was beaming. She knew from the stories that she had heard that it had not gone nearly this well when Alex had tried to introduce her mother to Olivia. So the fact that Lily was touching Casey and recognising that they were together was a huge step for everyone.

"Well then it's nice to meet you, Lily." She said with a smile, and an overemphasis on the name Lily. Alex couldn't completely suppress her laugh at her girlfriend, and Lily let out the most unladylike laugh that Alex had ever heard from her.

"I like her," She said, turning toward Alex. "She's got some spirit in her!" Alex light up at this, and Casey almost passed out. They had been together a grand total of five minutes and Lily Cabot had already said that she liked her. Maybe things weren't going to be nearly as bad as she had thought.

"That she does, mom. That she does."

The rest of dinner went off without a hitch. Passed mostly with small talk and family history and embarrassing stories of Alex's teenage years when she had decided that she wanted to be a dancer instead of doing something with that brain of hers. Of course Lily had pictures to back up all of her stories, so Casey was in heaven. Alex found herself settling back and watching her mother and her girlfriend interact. Just a few short years ago, she could never have imagined this happening; sitting at the same table with her mother and a woman that she loved more than the world, sharing a civil meal where everyone knew exactly what was going on. The last time that she had tried to have a meal with her mother and a woman that she was involved with, Olivia, it had ended in tears on both parts. So the fact that her mother was now embracing Casey with open arms, literally, made her heart swell. She couldn't ask for anything more. Her phone beeped, and she quietly excused herself from the table, leaving her mother and her girlfriend completely engrossed in conversation.

"Cabot," She barked into the phone out of habit, not bothering to look at the caller ID, or think twice about the fact that it was her day off.

"Well hello to you too, sis!"

"Andrew! Where the hell are you?! I thought you were supposed to be my backup!" Alex half shrieked. She knew that she was overreacting, especially based on the fact that she could see Casey almost doubled over in her chair from laughter. But she also knew that her brother wouldn't just leave her high and dry without a good reason.

"Mom asked if she could come alone, and so I let her. I can see you tensing. Relax, I'm in the cafe on the corner, just in case you needed me. I wasn't going to let her go in there alone, guns blazing. But she's trying Lex. She wanted to show you that she doesn't need a babysitter to have dinner with you and the woman that you love. I know that she doesn't have the best track record when it comes to this, but she's trying. How are things going?" Alex took a breath, knowing her brother was right. She looked out toward the table again, and couldn't stop her smile. Lily had pulled out another book of pictures, and the two were huddled around it like old friends.

"You wouldn't believe this, Drew. Hell, I can hardly believe it and I'm seeing it with my own eyes. She hugged her, and she acknowledged that we were a couple, and not just good friends. They're huddled over one of mom's photo albums, gossiping like old women! When did hell freeze over, and why did no one tell me?"

"Did you really expect it to go bad?" He asked, already knowing the answer, but knowing that Alex needed to talk it out.

"No, but I also didn't know what to expect. When I brought Liv home, I thought mother would accept her with open arms, and we both know how that ended. So I was more than a little nervous about this..."

"I told you she's trying Lex. She doesn't want to lose you, and she knows that means accepting you as you are, and that means accepting Casey, too. It also doesn't hurt that a blind man could see how happy she makes you, so she's not going to get in the way of that Lex. Not even Olivia made you glow like Casey does. She's a good one, don't let her go."

"I don't plan on it, I really don't." She said, letting her mind wander to the thoughts of spending forever with Casey, and she realised for the first time that she would be okay with that. That the idea of not having Casey around was so much worse than any uncertainty caused by the world around them could ever be.

"Earth to Alex!" Andrew yelled, pulling her attention back to the phone.

"Sorry, did you say something?" She refocused her attention, but she couldn't keep the goofy grin off her face.

"Nothing that can't wait. Go be with your girl! I'll call later and maybe we can all do lunch next week?"

"Sounds like a great plan. I love you, little brother.

"Ditto. Give Case a hug from me!" With that line went dead, and Alex tried her best to school her face back to neutral before making her way back to the table. They didn't need to know that even though Andrew wasn't there, he was still chaperoning them.

"Everything alright?" Casey asked as Alex slid back into her seat with a smile.

"Everything's great. That was just one of my DAs giving me an update on a case. I had asked him to call me as soon as we knew anything, sorry for the interruption." She caught Casey's eye to make sure that everything had gone alright in her absence, and she was met with a look of pure joy. "Did you two manage to behave while I was gone?"

"Of course we did!" Lily said, giving Casey a wink.

"I just got to hear all about the terrible things you used to do as a child, that I will never let you live down!" Despite the fact that Alex knew she wasn't kidding, she couldn't bring herself to care. Her partner and mother managed to have a civil meal in her absence, and the weight of that was threatening to pull her under. She threw a disapproving look at her mother to try and hide the rush of emotions, but she knew that Casey could see right through her.

"She's a keeper, Alexandra." At this both women could scarcely find words to put to the emotions flooding their brains. They knew the magnitude of those words, especially coming from Lily, and it was all Alex could do not to cry.

"So I've been told," Alex finally managed. "So I've been told."

**X X X**

"So are you going to tell me what happened today at the restaurant?" Casey asked as she slid into the bed beside Alex. She had intended to have a real conversation, but the second she was under the covers, Alex instantly curled up into her side.

"I just..." Alex started, burying her face into Casey's shoulder so that she couldn't see her face. "I never expected that I would end up here."

"End up where?" Casey pushed, trying to get Alex to look at her. She couldn't read the tone of her voice and she needed to see her face to know that she didn't need to be worried.

"Happy," She supplied, looking up to meet Casey's eyes for a brief second. "With a woman that I love, and my mother accepting me for who I am. For what we are. Seeing you two together today made me realise just how much time really can change things. I love you so much, and seeing you with my mother today showed me just how happy I truly am. That's not something I thought I'd ever have again. Not after everything that happened to me, and yet here we are, and I can't thank you enough for loving me."

Casey was speechless. She knew that Alex loved her, but never in a million years had she expected Alex equate so much of her happiness to her. She loved making her happy, and being the reason for her happiness, she had just never expected it. "You never have to thank me for loving you, Alexandra. In so many ways I didn't exist until I started loving you. So I should be thanking you." Alex's face cracked into a smile, and Casey couldn't stop the tear that escaped down her cheek before Alex swiped it away with the pad of her thumb. They both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Move in with me?" Alex asked, sitting up and effectively breaking the silence.

"What?" Casey gasped. She needed Alex to repeat it just to make sure that she had actually heard what she thought she did.

"I said, move in with me. Almost all your stuff is here anyways, and I can't even remember the last time that you actually slept at your own apartment. So why keep paying rent for an apartment that you never use? Move in with me. We don't have to stay here. We can get a place that's ours, or we can redecorate here, or I don't care what we do. I just want to be with you. So, move in with me?

"Why, Alex Cabot, are you nervous?" Casey teased, knowing full well that Alex was nervous and that's why the usually proficient woman was rambling.

"Shut up." She said, resisting the urge to stick her tongue out. She was a grown woman after all, even if Casey did manage to bring out some of her more childish tendencies.

"You're cute when you're nervous."

"And you didn't answer the question."

"Of course I will move in with you, Alex. That's not even a question that I need to think about. I don't care where we live. I'd live in a cardboard box as long as it meant that I was living with you." She leaned over to place a soft kiss on Alex's lips. She was never going to get tired of that feeling, the butterflies that made an appearance every time she touched Alex.

"I think that we can do slightly better than a cardboard box." She teased, pulling Casey back down under the covers with her.

"Yeah, maybe we could spring for a summer cardboard box as well!" And there was the laugh that Casey loved so much. The one that she knew so few people got to hear; the one that let her know that this was her Alex, not ADA Cabot.

"I love you," Alex whispered as she snuggled herself back into Casey's side.

"I love you, too."

**X X X**

"So how long had it really been since you had been back to your apartment?" Wyatt asked, bringing Casey back to the present.

"Do you really want to know, or are you just asking because you can?" Casey asked, raising an eyebrow, knowing how her son's brain worked. He asked questions, and then when he found out the answer, he realised he actually didn't want to know. Finding out how long your parents had been sleeping together before actually living together would probably fall under things no one wanted to know.

"I kind of actually want to know," He said, making a face saying that he might regret it.

"Well, do you remember that big fight your mother and I had about the park incident?" Both children nodded, trying to remember how far back that was. "That was the last time I had slept in my apartment, and before that it had been months. I was essentially already living with your mother, but I still had my apartment, because neither of us was ready to take that step yet. Truth be told, I was waiting for her to bring it up because of everything she had been through. I was willing to wait as long as she needed to, because I loved her." Casey smiled at the memory of Alex that night, how nervous she had been about asking, and the look of pure relief when she had said yes.

"Did you guys end up moving, or did you stay in mom's apartment?" Leighton asked, always the curious one, and never letting them get far off from the story.

"We ended up staying, and making the place our own. It was in a great location, and pretty much all of our stuff was already there, so neither of us saw a reason to move."

"You two never did anything normally, did you?"

"Never," Casey added with a smile. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."


End file.
